Tac of war

ABSTRACT

The invention is a method of playing a battle board game having player one and player two, and a rectangular game board (1) comprising eight rows and seven columns of square boxes forming a grid pattern. Player one set up a battle formation by the first two rows of square boxes and player two set up battle formation formed by the two rows of square boxes located at an opposite end thereof. The playing pieces comprise commander (2) pieces, deputy commander (2) pieces, warships (4) pieces, warplanes (2) pieces, tanks (2) pieces, infantry (8) pieces and special forces (8) pieces. Playing pieces are moved about the game board in a one square forward direction, one square backward or one square sideways to the left or one square sideways to the right but not diagonally. To win, a player needs to checkmate or remove the opponent&#39;s commander playing piece.

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a unique and simple battle board game involving the use of strategy and tactics in deploying the playing pieces and maneuvering them with the objective of checkmating or capturing/removing the opponent's commander playing piece. This game is purely a game of skill.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] There are numerous military or battle board games available in the United States and in other countries that provided limited use of the player's skills. Various types of war board games make used of a dice in order to play or move the playing pieces that is based purely on the luck of the throw of the dice. Others used spinning device of chance in order to determine the play.

[0003] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,069 to Leask discloses a game wherein 113 figurative combatants are positioned about the game board and allowed to advance, retreat or attack in response to indication by a six sided dice member.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,017 to Grammatico provides for a war simulation board game wherein game pieces simulating war vehicles move about a grid pattern according to a spinning device of chance.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,037 to Rumph discloses a war simulation board game wherein playing pieces are moved about the game board and the opponent player's playing pieces are removed in accordance with a chance determining device or the used of a dice. Therefore, there is a great need for a battle board game that does not need any chance determining device to play. There is also a great need for a board game that requires skills and creativity not just luck to win the game. This invention does not require any chance determining device to play so it provides more fun, more action filled board game and more intellectual challenge to both players. What the invention requires is the creativity and skills of the player in order to win.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention provides a battle game involving a game board with seven squares by eight. Since this invention does not employ any chance determining device to play, a player needs skills and creativity to win the game. Each player has fourteen playing pieces represented by circle cards with pictorial and word designation imprints of type of military force e.g.: one commander, one deputy commander, two warships, one warplane, one tank, four infantry and four special forces. The pieces are set up on the game board according to the player's choice or in any random order. Thus, on the first and second rows, one player will arrange his light colored playing pieces, in any order. The other player sets up the other dark colored playing pieces, according to his choice, in any order on rows eight and seven. The arrangement by both players should be made that all playing pieces must be placed “faced down” to hide battle formation. However, before the start of the game, all playing pieces will be turned over “faced up”. No rearrangement will be allowed after the playing pieces were turned over “faced up”. The player with the light colored playing pieces will play first. The players then alternate turns to play just like in a regular chess game.

[0007] The game is over when the opponent's commander is removed/captured or checkmated. Playing pieces on the game board move one square (to advance, to retreat, to defend and to remove/capture) in a direction consisting of one square forward, one square backward, one square sideways to the left or one square sideways to the right but not in a diagonal direction. A playing piece may capture or remove an opponent piece if said piece is within one square distance (in either direction of a piece allowable moves). The capture is completed by putting the playing piece on top of an opponent's piece and removing the captured piece from the game board.

[0008] A playing piece cannot move on the square occupied by a friendly piece.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is the game board

[0010]FIG. 2 are the playing pieces in light color

[0011]FIG. 3 are the playing pieces in dark color

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is the game board with fifty six equally sized squares arranged seven squares from the left to the right and eight squares from top to bottom.

[0013]FIG. 2 are the playing pieces in light colors to be arranged in the game board by one player according to his choice or in any random order on the first and second rows. The arrangement should be made that all playing pieces must be placed “faced down” to hide battle formation from the other player.

[0014] However, before the start of the game, all playing pieces must be placed “faced up”. No rearrangement will be allowed after the playing pieces were turned over “faced up”. The player with the light colored playing pieces will play first and the players will then alternate turns to play just like in a regular chess game.

[0015] Playing pieces on the game board move one square forward, one square backward, one square sideways to the right or one square sideways to the left but not diagonally. A playing piece may remove an opponent piece if said piece is within one square distance (in either direction of a removing piece allowable moves). The capture is completed by putting the playing piece on top of an opponent's piece and taking the opponent's piece out of the game board. A playing piece cannot move on the square occupied by a friendly piece.

[0016] The following are the removing/capturing power of the playing pieces:

[0017] A commander playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent deputy commander playing piece, opponent warship playing piece, opponent warplane playing piece, and opponent tank playing piece.

[0018] A deputy commander playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent warship playing piece, opponent war plane playing piece and opponent tank playing piece.

[0019] A warship playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent war plane playing piece, opponent tank playing piece, opponent infantry playing piece and opponent special forces playing piece.

[0020] A war plane playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent tank playing piece, opponent infantry playing piece and opponent special forces playing piece.

[0021] A tank playing piece may remove the opponent's infantry playing pieces.

[0022] An infantry playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent commander playing piece and opponent deputy commander playing piece.

[0023] A special forces playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent commander playing piece, opponent deputy commander playing piece, opponent tank playing piece and opponent infantry playing piece.

[0024] Opposing identical playing pieces may remove each other from the board game except for the commander playing pieces. Example: light colored infantry playing piece vs. dark colored infantry playing piece will remove each other and both will be out of the board game. A commander playing piece cannot remove an opponent's commander playing piece. A piece defended by a commander playing piece may not be removed by an opponent's commander playing piece. A commander playing piece cannot occupy the squares controlled by the following opponent's playing pieces: commander playing piece, infantry playing piece and special forces playing piece. A square is controlled by an opponent's playing pieces if said playing pieces can attack the commander playing piece if the commander occupies that square.

[0025] A game is won if the opponent's commander playing piece is checkmated or removed. A commander playing piece is checkmated when it does not have any square to go to after being attacked and checked by an opponent's infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece. A commander playing piece is removed when the said commander playing piece capture an opponent's playing piece defended by an opponent's infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece.

[0026] A game is a draw if the opponent's commander playing piece is in stalemate position, meaning the commander playing piece has no square to go to but it is not under check and there is no other piece or no other move available for the player with the commander in stalemate position.

[0027] A game is also a draw if the opponent can do a perpetual check on the commander playing piece and the opponent's offer for a draw was accepted by the other player. A perpetual check means the opponent can check the commander playing piece at will.

[0028] A game is also a draw if the remaining pieces of both players have no power to remove the opponent's commander playing piece.

[0029] A word “check” should be spoken by the player when attacking the opponent's commander playing piece with infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece.

[0030]FIG. 3 are the playing pieces in dark colors to be arranged in the game board by one player according to his choice or in any random order on the eight and seven rows. The arrangement should be made that all playing pieces must be placed “faced down” to hide battle formation.

[0031] However before the start of the game, all playing pieces must be turned over “faced up”. No rearrangement will be allowed after the playing pieces were turned over “faced up”. The player with the light colored pieces will play first and the players will then alternate turns to play or move the pieces just like in a regular chess game.

[0032] Playing pieces on the game board move one square forward, one square backward, one square sideways to the right or one square sideways to the left but not in a diagonal direction. A playing piece may remove an opponent piece if said piece is within one square distance (in either direction of a capturing piece allowable moves). The removal is completed by putting the playing piece on top of an opponent's piece and taking the opponent's piece out of the game board.

[0033] A playing piece cannot move on the square occupied by a friendly piece.

[0034] The following are the removing/capturing power of the playing pieces:

[0035] A commander playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent deputy commander playing piece, opponent warship playing piece, opponent warplane playing piece, and opponent tank playing piece.

[0036] A deputy commander playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent warship playing piece, opponent war plane playing piece and opponent tank playing piece.

[0037] A warship playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent war plane playing piece, opponent tank playing piece, opponent infantry playing piece and opponent special forces playing piece.

[0038] A war plane playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent tank playing piece, opponent infantry playing piece and opponent special forces playing piece.

[0039] A tank playing piece may remove the opponent's infantry playing piece.

[0040] An infantry playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent commander playing piece and opponent deputy commander playing piece.

[0041] A special forces playing piece may remove the following playing pieces: opponent commander playing piece, opponent deputy commander playing piece, opponent tank playing piece and opponent infantry playing piece.

[0042] Opposing identical playing pieces may remove each other from the board game except for the commander playing pieces. Example: light colored infantry playing piece vs. dark colored infantry playing piece will remove each other and both will be out of the board game. A commander playing piece cannot remove an opponent's commander playing piece. A piece defended by a commander playing piece may not be removed by an opponent's commander playing piece. A commander playing piece cannot occupy the squares controlled by the following opponent's playing pieces: commander playing piece, infantry playing piece and special forces playing piece. A square is controlled by an opponent's playing pieces if said playing pieces can attack the commander playing piece if the commander occupies that square.

[0043] A game is won if the opponent's commander playing piece is checkmated or removed. A commander playing piece is checkmated when it does not have any square to go to after being checked by an opponent's infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece. A commander playing piece is removed when the said commander playing piece capture an opponent's playing piece defended by an opponent's infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece.

[0044] A game is a draw if the opponent's commander playing piece is in stalemate position, meaning the commander playing piece has no square to go to but it is not under check and there is no other piece or no other move available for the player with the commander in stalemate position.

[0045] A game is also a draw if the opponent can do a perpetual check on the commander playing piece and the opponent's offer for a draw was accepted by the other player. A perpetual check means the opponent can check the commander playing piece at will. A game is also a draw if the remaining pieces of both players have no power to remove the opponent's commander playing piece.

[0046] A word “check” should be spoken by the player attacking the opponent's commander playing piece with infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece. The present invention may also be implemented by means of software applications allowing two players or one player versus the computer. The present invention may also be implemented for play on a computer network.

[0047] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specifications and intended to encompassed by the present invention.

[0048] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A battle board game, comprising: a. a rectangular board having a playing surface divided into grid of squares consisting of 56 equally sized squares, said squares being arranged seven left to right and eight top to bottom b. a plurality of game pieces consisting of twenty eight game pieces which may be placed on said equally sized squares, said game pieces are presented as circle cards with pictorial illustration associated with each type of military force and a word describing each type of military force c. arranging by a player one on the first and second rows left to right, in any order the following light colored playing pieces: one commander, one deputy commander, two warships, one warplane, one tank, four infantry and four special forces d. arranging by a player two on the eight and seven rows left to right, in any order the following dark colored playing pieces: one commander, one deputy commander, two warships, one warplane, one tank, four infantry and four special forces e. the player with the light colored pieces will play first and the players will then alternate turns to play
 2. The battle board game of claim 1, wherein said game board is implemented via software.
 3. A method of playing battle board game according to claim 1, wherein the movement of the playing pieces about the game board comprises the following in order to remove the opponent player's playing pieces, or to checkmate capture or remove the opponent's commander playing piece: a) playing pieces move to advance, to defend, to remove/capture, to retreat in a direction consisting of one square forward, one square backward, one square sideways to the left and one square sideways to the right, but not in a diagonal direction; b) an opponent playing piece may be removed from the play by putting the playing piece on top of an opponent playing piece and removing the opponent playing piece on the game board c) a commander playing piece may remove the following playing pieces from the play: opponent deputy commander playing piece, opponent warship playing piece, opponent warplane playing piece, and opponent tank playing piece; d) a deputy commander playing piece may remove the following playing pieces from the play: an opponent warship playing piece, opponent warplane playing piece and opponent tank playing piece; e) a warship playing piece may remove the following playing pieces from the play: an opponent warplane playing piece, an opponent tank playing piece, opponent infantry playing piece and opponent special forces playing piece; f) a warplane playing piece may remove the following playing pieces from the play: an opponent tank playing piece, opponent infantry playing piece and opponent special forces playing piece; g) a tank playing piece may remove an opponent infantry playing piece from the play, h) an infantry playing piece may remove the following playing pieces from the play: an opponent commander playing piece and opponent deputy commander playing piece; i) a special forces playing piece may remove the following playing pieces from the play: an opponent commander playing piece, opponent deputy commander playing piece, opponent tank playing piece and opponent infantry playing piece. j) identical opposing playing pieces may remove each other from the play with the exception of the commander playing pieces, example: light colored infantry playing piece vs. dark colored infantry playing piece both will be removed from the play and will be out of the game board k) a commander playing piece cannot cause the removal of an opponent commander playing piece from the play, a playing piece defended by a commander playing piece cannot be removed by an opponent commander playing piece, a square controlled by opponent commander playing piece, a square controlled by opponent infantry playing piece and a square controlled by a opponent special forces playing piece cannot be occupied by a commander playing piece, a square is controlled by an opponent's playing pieces if said playing pieces can attack the commander playing piece if the said commander playing piece occupies that square l) a game is won if the opponent commander playing piece is checkmated or removed by infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece m) a commander playing piece is checkmated when it does not have any square to go to after being checked by the opponent infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece, a commander playing piece is removed from the play when said commander playing piece removed an opponent playing piece being defended by opponent infantry playing piece or being defended by opponent special forces playing piece n) a game is a draw if the opponent can do a perpetual check, meaning the opponent can check the commander playing piece at will, and the opponent's offer for a draw was accepted by the other player o) a game is a draw if the opponent commander playing piece is in a stalemate position, meaning the commander playing piece of the opponent has no square to go but is not under check and no other piece or move available to the player with the commander playing piece in stalemate position p) a game is also a draw if the remaining playing pieces of both players have no power to remove the opponent commander playing piece from the play q) a word “check” should be spoken by the player attacking the opponent's commander playing piece with infantry playing piece or special forces playing piece. 